Electronic device for performing a communication connection and method for establishing a communication connection

ABSTRACT

An electronic device is provided that includes a communication module; a memory configured to store communication connection information for communication connection with an external electronic device; and a processor configured to, upon a communication connection request with the external electronic device, perform communication connection with the external electronic device using pre-stored communication connection information, if the pre-stored communication connection information exists.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119to a Korean patent application filed in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice on Oct. 15, 2014 and assigned Serial No. 10-2014-0139207, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to an electronic device for performing acommunication connection and a method for establishing a communicationconnection.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, electronic devices related to wireless fidelity (WiFi)communication have come into wide use. WiFi communication, which iscommunication based on the IEEE 802.11 standard, may performcommunication by transmitting and receiving a wireless signal containingdata in a wireless frequency band of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. WiFicommunication may be performed between a client and an access point(AP). The client may be connected to the web based on WiFi communicationwith the AP. WiFi electronic devices perform a specific procedure forexchanging with each other the wireless packets containing the necessaryinformation according to a defined protocol, for wireless communication.Similarly, a necessary procedure is defined even during connectionbetween electronic devices. For example, processes of searching for,recognizing and authenticating an opponent device, making a connectionrequest, and exchanging an encryption key are defined during theconnection between electronic devices, and an electronic device may makea WiFi communication connection by performing all of the definedprocedures.

WiFi communication performs processes of searching for, recognizing andauthenticating an opponent device, making a connection request, andexchanging an encryption key, which are the defined procedures, to makea communication connection. On the other hand, WiFi communication isdefined to perform again the processes of searching for, recognizing andauthenticating an opponent device, making a connection request, andexchanging an encryption key, even when an electronic device makes areconnection with the opponent device, with which its communicationconnection has been made previously.

The above information is presented as background information only toassist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination hasbeen made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the abovemight be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the disclosure is to address at least the above-mentionedproblems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantagesdescribed below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to providean electronic device for performing a communication connection and amethod for establishing a communication connection.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device isprovided, which may include a communication module comprisingcommunication circuitry; a memory configured to store communicationconnection information for communication connection with an externalelectronic device; and a processor configured to, upon receiving acommunication connection request with the external electronic device,perform communication connection with the external electronic deviceusing pre-stored communication connection information, if the pre-storedcommunication connection information exists.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method forestablishing a communication connection in an electronic device isprovided. The method may include storing communication connectioninformation for communication connection with an external electronicdevice; and upon receiving a communication connection request with theexternal electronic device, performing communication connection with theexternal electronic device using pre-stored communication connectioninformation, if the pre-stored communication connection informationexists.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a storage medium isprovided for storing a communication connection program in an electronicdevice. The program may include storing communication connectioninformation for communication connection with an external electronicdevice; and upon receiving a communication connection request with theexternal electronic device, performing communication connection with theexternal electronic device using pre-stored communication connectioninformation, if the pre-stored communication connection informationexists.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, a method forestablishing a communication connection with an access point (AP) in awireless fidelity (WiFi) client is provided. The method may includeobtaining an AP selection command for the AP; obtaining a Service SetIdentifier (SSID) of the AP from the obtained AP selection command, andsending a Probe Request signal including the SSID of the AP; receiving aProbe Response signal from the AP; parsing the received Probe Responsesignal and storing second communication connection information based onthe parsing result; sending an Authentication signal to the AP, andreceiving an Authentication signal from the AP; sending an AssociationRequest signal to the AP; receiving an Association Response signal fromthe AP; parsing the received Association Response signal and storingfourth communication connection information based on the parsing result;and generating an encryption key and sending the encryption key to theAP.

In accordance with still another aspect of the disclosure, a method forestablishing a communication connection with a client in a wirelessfidelity (WiFi) access point (AP) is provided. The method may includereceiving a Probe Request signal including a Service Set Identifier(SSID) of the AP; parsing the received Probe Request signal and storingfirst communication connection information based on the parsing result;sending a Probe Response signal to the client; receiving anAuthentication signal from the client, and sending an Authenticationsignal to the client; receiving an Association Request signal from theclient; parsing the received Association Request signal, and storingthird communication connection information based on the parsing result;sending an Association Response signal to the client; and receiving anencryption key from the client.

In accordance with still another aspect of the disclosure, a method forestablishing a communication connection with an access point (AP) in awireless fidelity (WiFi) client is provided. The method may includeobtaining an AP selection command for the AP; obtaining a Service SetIdentifier (SSID) of the AP from the obtained AP selection command, anddetermining whether the SSID exists in a pre-stored AP list; if the SSIDexists in the AP list, obtaining second and fourth communicationconnection information corresponding to the SSID; and generating anencryption key based on at least one of the obtained second and fourthcommunication connection information, and sending the encryption key tothe AP.

In accordance with still another aspect of the disclosure, a method forestablishing a communication connection with a client in a wirelessfidelity (WiFi) access point (AP) is provided. The method may includereceiving an encryption key including a Service Set Identifier (SSID) ofthe client; determining whether the SSID obtained from the receivedencryption key exists in a pre-stored client list; if the SSID exists inthe client list, obtaining first and third communication connectioninformation corresponding to the SSID; and generating an encryption keybased on at least one of the obtained first and third communicationconnection information, and transmitting the encryption key to theclient.

Other aspects, advantages, and features of the disclosure will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses example embodiments of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain exampleembodiments will be more apparent from the following description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals refer to like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a communication connection systemaccording to various example embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication connection methodaccording to various example embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram illustrating a communication connectionmethod;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a WiFi chipset according tovarious example embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a signaling diagram illustrating an operation of an electronicdevice during initial connection according to various exampleembodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a client duringinitial connection according to various example embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an AP during initialconnection according to various example embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a signaling diagram illustrating an operation of an electronicdevice during reconnection according to various example embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a client duringreconnection according to various example embodiments;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an AP duringreconnection according to various example embodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates association response values during initialconnection and reconnection according to various example embodiments;

FIG. 12 illustrates a network environment including an electronic deviceaccording to various example embodiments;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a program module according to variousexample embodiments; and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to variousexample embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments of the disclosure are described with reference tothe accompanying drawings. Various changes may be made to thedisclosure, and the disclosure may come with a diversity of exampleembodiments. Some example embodiments of the disclosure are shown anddescribed in connection with the drawings. However, it should beappreciated that the disclosure is not limited to the exampleembodiments, and all changes and/or equivalents or replacements theretoalso belong to the scope of the disclosure. The same or similarreference denotations are used to refer to the same or similar elementsthroughout the specification and the drawings.

The terms “comprise” and/or “comprising” as used herein specify thepresence of disclosed functions, operations, or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other functions,operations, or components. It will be further understood that the terms“comprise” and/or “have,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “A or B” or “at least one of A and/or B”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items. For examples, “A or B” or “at least one of A or/and B”each may include A, or include B, or include both A and B.

Ordinal numbers as herein used, such as “first”, “second”, etc., maymodify various components of various example embodiments, but do notlimit those components. For example, these terms do not limit the orderand/or importance of the components. These terms are only used todistinguish one component from another. For example, a first user deviceand a second user device are different user devices from each other. Forexample, according to various example embodiments, a first component maybe denoted a second component, and vice versa without departing from thescope of the disclosure.

When a component is “connected to” or “coupled to” another component,the component may be directly connected or coupled to the othercomponent, or other component(s) may intervene therebetween. Incontrast, when a component is “directly connected to” or “directlycoupled to” another component, no other intervening components mayintervene therebetween.

The terms as used herein are provided merely to describe some exampleembodiments thereof, but not to limit the disclosure. It is to beunderstood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include pluralreferences unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientificterms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one ofordinary skill in the art to which the example embodiments of thedisclosure belong. It will be further understood that terms, such asthose defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted ashaving a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context ofthe relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overlyformal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

An electronic device according to various example embodiments mayinclude at least one of, for example, a smart phone, a tablet personalcomputer (PC), a mobile phone, a video phone, an e-book reader, adesktop PC, a laptop PC, a netbook computer, a workstation, a server, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), anMP3 player, a mobile medical device, a camera, or a wearable device(e.g., smart glasses, a head-mounted-device (HMD), electronic clothing,an electronic bracelet, an electronic necklace, an E-App accessory (orappcessory), electronic tattoo, a smart mirror, or a smart watch).

In some example embodiments, the electronic device may be a smart homeappliance. The smart home appliance may include at least one of, forexample, a television (TV), a digital video disk (DVD) player, an audioplayer, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, a cleaner, an oven, amicrowave oven, a washer, an air purifier, a set-top box, a homeautomation control panel, a security control panel, a TV box (e.g.,Samsung HomeSync™, Apple TV™, or Google TV™), a game console (e.g.,Xbox™, or PlayStation™), an electronic dictionary, an electronic key, acamcorder or electronic paper.

In another example embodiment, the electronic device may include atleast one of various medical devices (e.g., various portable medicalmeters (or a blood glucose meter, a heart rate meter, a blood pressuremeter, or a body temperature meter), magnetic resonance angiography(MRA), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT),medical camcorder, or a medical ultrasound device), a navigation device,a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, an event data recorder(EDR), a flight data recorder (FDR), an automotive infotainment device,a marine electronic device (e.g., a marine navigation device, a gyrocompass and the like), avionics, a security device, a car head unit, anindustrial or household robot, an automatic teller's machine for banks,or a point of sales (POS) of shops, or an Internet of things (IoT)device (e.g., an electric bulb, various sensors, an electricity or gasmeter, a sprinkler device, a fire alarm, a thermostat, a street lamp, atoaster, fitness equipment, a hot water tank, a heater, a boiler and thelike).

In some example embodiments, the electronic device may include at leastone of a part of the furniture or building/structure, an electronicboard, an electronic signature receiving device, a projector, or variousmeters (e.g., meters for water, electricity, gas or radio waves). Insome example embodiments, the electronic device may be one orcombination of the above-described various devices. An electronic deviceaccording to some example embodiments may be a flexible electronicdevice. The electronic device according to an example embodiment of thedisclosure is not limited to the above-described devices, and mayinclude new electronic devices in line with the development oftechnology.

The electronic device according to various example embodiments will nowbe described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As usedherein, the term ‘user’ may refer to a person who uses the electronicdevice, or a device (e.g., an intelligent electronic device) that usesthe electronic device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication connection system accordingto various example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 1, a communication connection system according tovarious example embodiments may include a client 101 and an access point(AP) 190. The client 101 may make a communication connection with the AP190. The client 101 may make a communication connection with the AP 190based on a WiFi communication. The client 101 may perform a proceduredefined in WiFi communication, with the AP 190. The client 101 maytransmit and receive a data packet defined in WiFi communication,to/from the AP 190. For example, the client 101 may send a Probe Requestto the AP 190, receive a Probe Response from the AP 190, and then sendan acknowledgement (Ack) to the AP 190. For example, the client 101 maysend and receive Authentication and Ack to/from the AP 190. For example,the client 101 may send and receive an Association Request and an Ackto/from the AP 190. For example, the client 101 may send and receive anAssociation Response and an Ack to the AP 190. For example, the client101 may transmit and receive an encryption key or an extensibleauthentication protocol over local area network key (EAPOL-Key) to/fromthe AP 190. The above-described, Probe Request, Probe Response,Authentication, Association Request and Association Response will bedescribed in more detail below. In a case where the client 101 is anelectronic device, the AP 190 may be referred to as an ‘opponent device’or ‘external electronic device’. Conversely, in a case where the AP 190is an electronic device, the client 101 may be referred to as an‘opponent device’ or ‘external electronic device’.

The client 101 according to various example embodiments may storecommunication connection information corresponding to information on theAP 190, with which its connection has been made previously, inassociation with each other. The AP 190 may store communicationconnection information corresponding to identification information ofthe client 101, with which its connection has been made previously, inassociation with each other.

Identification information of the AP 190 may include at least one of aService Set Identifier (SSID) and a Media Access Control (MAC) addressof the AP 190. Identification information of the client 101 may includeat least one of an SSID and a MAC address of the client 101.

The communication connection information may be, for example,information required for generation of an encryption key. In one exampleembodiment, the communication connection information may includeinformation parsed from a Probe Request and a Probe Response. Forexample, the information parsed from a Probe Request and a ProbeResponse may include at least one of Capability information, SSIDinformation, Supported Rates information, Robust Security Network (RSN)information, High-Throughput (HT) Capability Information, additional HTinformation, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) information, Vendor Specificinformation, and Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) information. In one exampleembodiment, communication connection information may include informationparsed from an Association Request and an Association Response. Forexample, the information parsed from an Association Request and anAssociation Response may include at least one of Capability information,SSID information, Supported Rates information, RSN information, HTCapability information, Vendor Specific information and WMM information.

The Capability information, which is a field value existing in amanagement frame, may indicate a short preamble, Quality of Service(QoS), ESS/IBSS, WEP security and the like. The SSID may be identifiableidentification information broadcast by the AP 190. The Supported Ratesinformation may include a supported data rate. The RSN information mayinclude a security scheme. The HT Capability information, which isCapability information for IEEE 802.11n fast communication, may indicatea 20/40 MHz bandwidth, guard interval setting, a delayed block Ackoperation, spatial multiplexing and the like. The WPA information maymean an encryption authentication scheme, and the Vendor Specificinformation may indicate information required to perform a uniquefunction in an AP vendor. The WMM information may include power-savingoperation-related information.

The client 101 according to various example embodiments may load thestored communication connection information, when the client 101attempts a reconnection with the AP 190, with which its connection hasbeen made previously. The client 101 may make a communication connectionwith the AP 190 based on the loaded communication connectioninformation. The client 101 may generate an encryption key based on theloaded communication connection information, and send the generatedencryption key to the AP 190. If a packet first received from the client101 is an encryption key, the AP 190 according to the known art maydiscard the received encryption key. If a packet first received from theclient 101 is an encryption key, the AP 190 according to various exampleembodiments may determine whether the client 101 is a client, with whichits connection has been made previously, without discarding theencryption key. If it is determined that the client 101 is a client,with which its connection has been made previously, the AP 190 may sendan encryption key of the AP 190 to the client 101. Accordingly, theclient 101 and the AP 190 may omit some of the procedure defined by WiFicommunication.

As described above, the client 101 or the AP 190 according to variousexample embodiments may store information of an opponent device, withwhich its connection has been made previously, and the correspondingcommunication connection information, in association with each other. Inaddition, the client 101 or the AP 190 may make a connection based onthe stored communication connection information during a reconnectionwith the opponent device, with which its connection has been madepreviously, thereby making it possible to make a communicationconnection while omitting some of the procedure defined by WiFicommunication.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication connection methodaccording to various example embodiments.

In operation 210, an electronic device may store at least onecommunication connection information of an opponent electronic device ina process of making an initial connection with the opponent electronicdevice. The electronic device may store identification information andcommunication connection information of the opponent electronic devicein association with each other.

In operation 220, the electronic device may make a communicationconnection using the stored communication connection information in aprocess of making a reconnection with the opponent electronic device,with which its connection has been made previously. The electronicdevice may obtain a connection command received from the user, and mayobtain identification information of the opponent electronic device fromthe obtained connection command. Alternatively, the electronic devicemay receive a connection request from the opponent electronic device,and obtain identification information of the opponent electronic devicefrom the received connection request. In addition, the electronic devicemay determine whether the electronic device has stored the communicationconnection information corresponding to the obtained identificationinformation. If the electronic device has stored the communicationconnection information, the electronic device may make a communicationconnection by loading the stored communication connection information.

FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram illustrating a communication connectionmethod made for comparison.

In operation 301, a client 331 may send a Probe Request to an AP 390.The Probe Request may include an IEEE 802.11 MAC header with a MACaddress of the client 331, SSID information, Supported Rates informationand HT Capability information. Here, the HT Capability information maybe included in the Probe Request, if the client 331 supports IEEE802.11n.

In operation 303, the AP 390 may send a Probe Response to the client331. The Probe Response may have a field advertising the capability ofthe AP 390. A value of the field may be obtained referring not only tothe Probe Response, but also to a beacon value that is transmitted andreceived on a regular basis for a predetermined period. The ProbeResponse may include at least one of Capability information, SupportedRates information, encryption information (e.g., RSN information, ERPinformation or the like), WPA information, WMM information and VendorSpecific information. The AP 390 may additionally include a QBSS loadand a country value in the Probe Response.

In operation 305, the client 331 may send an Ack to the AP 390.

In operation 307, the client 331 may send a first Authentication to theAP 390. In operation 309, the AP 390 may send an Ack to the client 331.In operation 311, the AP 390 may send a second Authentication to theclient 331. In operation 313, the client 331 may send an Ack to the AP390. Here, the first and second Authentications may include a sequence,and may increase one by one during transmission/reception. For example,if a sequence of the first Authentication is 1, a sequence of the secondAuthentication may be 2. The Authentication may inform the opponentdevice of the execution of an authentication procedure, and anauthentication algorithm and a status code value may be fixed to zero(0).

In operation 315, the client 331 may send an Association Request to theAP 390. In operation 317, the AP 390 may send an Ack to the client 331.The Association Request may include at least one of Capabilityinformation, Supported Rates information, HT Capability information,encryption information, WMM information and Vendor Specific informationfield's value.

In operation 319, the AP 390 may send an Association Response to theclient 331. In operation 321, the client 331 may send an Ack to the AP390. The Association Response may include at least one of Capabilityinformation, Supported Rates information, Vendor Specific information,WMM information, HT Capability information, and additional HTinformation. The additional HT information may be included in theAssociation Response, if IEEE 802.11n is supported.

In operation 323, the client 331 may send an encryption key EAPOL-Key tothe AP 390.

As described above, the client 331 according to the comparative examplemay perform sending and receiving of a Probe Request and a ProbeResponse, sending and receiving of an Authentication, and sending andreceiving of an Association Request and an Association Response in aprocess of making an initial communication connection with the AP 390.On the other hand, the client 331 according to the comparative examplewill re-perform operations 301 to 323 even in a process of requesting areconnection with the AP 390.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a WiFi chipset according to various exampleembodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4, a WiFi chipset 400 may include, for example, acentral processing unit (CPU) 410, a CPU bus 420, a static random accessmemory (SRAM) 430, an encryption module 440, a CPU interface 450, aninternal bus 460, a wireless local area network (WLAN) MAC/Basebandmodule 470, a WLAN RF module 480 and amplifiers 481 and 482.

In an initial connection phase, the WLAN RF module 480 may receive asignal. Here, the received signal may be amplified by the amplifier 482.The WLAN MAC/Baseband module 470 may receive the received signal fromthe WLAN RF module 480. The WLAN MAC/Baseband module 470 may forward thereceived signal to the CPU 410 through the internal bus 460, the CPUinterface 450 and the CPU bus 420. The WLAN MAC/Baseband module 470 andthe CPU 410 may decrypt the received signal.

A field value required for reconnection within a Probe Request and anAssociation Request in the decrypted signal may be stored in the SRAM430. Further, a field value required for reconnection within a beacon, aProbe Response and an Association Response in the decrypted signal maybe stored in the SRAM 430. The field value required for reconnection maybe stored in the SRAM 430 in association with identification informationof an opponent device. For example, the field value required forreconnection may be classified based on the MAC address and stored inthe SRAM 430.

In the reconnection phase, the CPU 410 may check the MAC address storedin the SRAM 430 to determine the history and whether the electronicdevice has accessed the opponent device. If it is determined that thereis a history that the electronic device has accessed the opponentdevice, the CPU 410 may load the information required for reconnectionfrom the SRAM 430 instead of waiting for the reception and decryption ofa wireless packet from the opponent device. The CPU 410 may control theWLAN MAC/Baseband module 470, the WLAN RF module 480 and the amplifier481 based on the loaded information so as to send an encryption keyEAPOL-Key.

In an example embodiment, the capacity of the information required forreconnection may be limited depending on the capacity of the SRAM 430,and the maximum number of WiFi devices, with which the electronic devicehas made a connection previously, and the information required forreconnection to which may be stored in the SRAM 430, may be flexiblydefined. Packet information required to be stored may be, for example,200 bytes per a pair of connections in the AP side. 200 bytes may be asum of IEEE 802.11 MAC header capacities of a Probe Request and anAssociation Request. In the client side, the required capacity may be,for example, 500 bytes. 500 bytes may be a sum of IEEE 802.11 MAC headercapacities of a Probe Response and an Association Response.

FIG. 5 is a signaling diagram illustrating an operation of an electronicdevice during initial connection according to various exampleembodiments.

In operation 501, the client 101 may send a Probe Request to the AP 190.In operation 503, the AP 190 may obtain first communication connectioninformation from the received Probe Request and store the firstcommunication connection information. The first communication connectioninformation may include at least one of Capability information, SSIDinformation, Supported Rates information, RSN information, HT Capabilityinformation, additional HT information, WPA information, Vendor Specificinformation, and WMM information.

In operation 505, the AP 190 may send a Probe Response to the client101. In operation 507, the client 101 may obtain second communicationconnection information from the received Probe Response and store thesecond communication connection information. The second communicationconnection information may include at least one of Capabilityinformation, SSID information, Supported Rates information, RSNinformation, HT Capability information, additional HT information, WPAinformation, Vendor Specific information, and WMM information.

In operation 509, the client 101 may send an Association Request to theAP 190. In operation 511, the AP 190 may obtain third communicationconnection information from the received Association Request and storethe third communication connection information. The third communicationconnection information may include at least one of Capabilityinformation, SSID information, Supported Rates information, RSNinformation, HT Capability information, Vendor Specific information, andWMM information.

In operation 513, the AP 190 may send an Association Response to theclient 101. In operation 515, the client 101 may obtain fourthcommunication connection information from the received AssociationResponse and store the fourth communication connection information. Thefourth communication connection information may include at least one ofCapability information, SSID information, Supported Rates information,RSN information, HT Capability information, Vendor Specific information,and WMM information.

In operation 517, the client 101 may send an encryption key EAPOL-Key tothe AP 190.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a client duringinitial connection according to various example embodiments.

In operation 605, the client 101 may obtain an AP selection command. Forexample, the client 101 may receive a beacon from the AP 190. The client101 may display a list of nearby AP based on the received beacon. Theuser may check the AP list displayed on the client 101, and select theAP that he/she desires to access, in the AP list. The client 101 mayobtain an AP selection command based, for example, on an input from theuser. If the number of received beacons is one, the client 101 mayobtain an AP selection command corresponding to the received beaconwithout the input from the user. Even if the number of received beaconsis plural, the client 101 may obtain an AP selection command on thebasis of predetermined priority, without the input from the user.

In operation 610, the client 101 may generate a Probe Request includingan SSID of the selected AP 190, and send the generated Probe Request tothe AP 190. The client 101 may generate a Probe Request by inputting anSSID value of the selected AP 190 into an SSID field of the ProbeRequest, and by inputting the capability information of client 101.

In operation 615, the client 101 may receive a Probe Response from theAP 190. If the client 101 fails to receive a Probe Response from the AP190 for a predetermined time, the client 101 may resend the ProbeRequest.

In operation 620, the client 101 may parse the received Probe Response,and set a parameter of an internal function based on the parsing result.In operation 625, the client 101 may store second communicationconnection information based on the set parameter of an internalfunction. In one example embodiment, the client 101 may store the secondcommunication connection information in an internal memory of the WiFichipset.

In operation 630, the client 101 may send an Authentication to the AP190. In operation 635, the client 101 may receive an Authentication fromthe AP 190. In one example embodiment, the client 101 may send anAuthentication with sequence number=1, and receive an Authenticationwith sequence number=2. If the client 101 fails to receive anAuthentication with sequence number=2, the client 101 may resend anAuthentication with sequence number=1.

In operation 640, the client 101 may generate an Association Requestbased on the information in the Probe Response and the capability of theclient 101, and send the generated Association Request to the AP 190.

In operation 645, the client 101 may receive an Association Responsefrom the AP 190. If the Association Response is not received for apredetermined time, the client 101 may resend the Association Request tothe AP 190.

In operation 650, the client 101 may parse the Association Response, andset a parameter of an internal function based on the parsing result. Inoperation 655, the client 101 may store fourth communication connectioninformation based on the set parameter of an internal function.

In operation 660, the client 101 may generate an encryption keyEAPOL-Key based on at least one of the second and fourth communicationconnection information. The client 101 may send the generated encryptionkey to the AP 190, proceeding with a future encryption phase.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an AP during aninitial connection according to various example embodiments.

In operation 705, the AP 190 may receive a Probe Request from the client101. For example, the AP 190 may receive a beacon from the client 101.The AP 190 may generate a beacon including identification information(e.g., at least one of an SSID and a MAC address of the AP 190) of theAP 190, and transmit the generated beacon. The client 101 may display alist of nearby APs based on the received beacon. The client 101 maydetermine the AP 190 as a target AP to which the client 101 is to beconnected, and thus send a Probe Request to the AP 190. The client 101may send a Probe Request including identification information of theclient 101. Alternatively, the client 101 may send a Probe Requestincluding identification information of the AP 190.

In operation 710, the AP 190 may extract a MAC address and an SSID ofthe client 101 from the Probe Request. Alternatively, the AP 190 mayextract an SSID of the AP 190 from the Probe Request. The AP 190 maydetermine whether the Probe Request is sent to the AP 190 itself, basedon the extracted SSID of the AP 190.

In operation 715, the AP 190 may parse the Probe Request, and set aparameter of an internal function based on the parsing result. Inoperation 720, the AP 190 may store first communication connectioninformation based on the set parameter. In an example embodiment, the AP190 may store the first communication connection information in aninternal memory of the WiFi chipset.

In operation 730, the AP 190 may send a Probe Response to the client101.

In operation 735, the AP 190 may receive an Authentication from theclient 101. If the Authentication is not received for a predeterminedtime, the AP 190 may resend the Probe Response to the client 101. Inoperation 740, the AP 190 may send an Authentication to the client 101.In one example embodiment, the AP 190 may receive an Authentication withsequence number=1, and send an Authentication with sequence number=2.

In operation 745, the AP 190 may receive an Association Request from theclient 101. If the Association Request is not received within apredetermined time, the AP 190 may resend the Authentication.

In operation 750, the AP 190 may parse the received Association Request,and set a parameter of an internal function based on the parsing result.In operation 755, the AP 190 may store third communication connectioninformation based on the set parameter.

In operation 760, the AP 190 may send an Association Response to theclient 101. In operation 765, the AP 190 may receive an encryption keyEAPOL-Key, and proceed with an encryption phase in response thereto.

FIG. 8 is a signaling diagram illustrating an operation of an electronicdevice during reconnection according to various example embodiments.

In operation 805, the client 101 may obtain an AP selection command.Prior to a reconnection, the client 101 may receive a beacon from the AP190, with which its connection has been made previously. The client 101may display a list of nearby APs based on the received beacon. The usermay check the AP list displayed on the client 101, and select the APthat he/she desires to access, in the AP list. The client 101 may obtainan AP selection command based on an input from the user. If the numberof received beacons is one, the client 101 may obtain an AP selectioncommand corresponding to the received beacon without the input from theuser. Even if the number of received beacons is plural, the client 101may obtain an AP selection command on the basis of predeterminedpriority, without the input from the user.

In operation 810, the client 101 may obtain second and fourthcommunication connection information from the stored AP list. Asdescribed above, the client 101 may store the second and fourthcommunication connection information in association with APidentification information. The client 101 may obtain the second andfourth communication connection information associated with the APidentification information obtained from the AP selection command.

In operation 815, the client 101 may generate an encryption keyEAPOL-Key based on the obtained second and fourth communicationconnection information, and send the generated encryption key to the AP190.

In operation 820, the AP 190 may determine whether identificationinformation (e.g., at least one of an SSID and a MAC address of theclient 101) of the client 101, which is obtained from the encryptionkey, is stored in a client list.

In operation 825, if the identification information of the client 101 isnot stored in the client list, the AP 190 may discard the receivedencryption key EAPOL-Key.

In operation 830, if the identification information of the client 101 isstored in the client list, the AP 190 may obtain first and thirdcommunication connection information associated with the obtainedidentification information of the client 101.

In operation 835, the AP 190 may generate an encryption key EAPOL-Keybased on the obtained first and third communication connectioninformation, and send the generated encryption key to the client 101,proceeding with a future encryption phase.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a client duringreconnection according to various example embodiments.

In operation 905, the client 101 may obtain an AP selection command. TheAP selection command, as described above, may include identificationinformation of the AP. In operation 910, the client 101 may checkidentification information (e.g., an SSID of the AP 190) of the AP 190.In operation 915, the client 101 may obtain a MAC address of the AP 190.

In operation 920, the client 101 may determine whether at least one ofthe obtained SSID and MAC address exists in a stored AP list. Asdescribed above, the client 101 may store the AP identificationinformation in association with the second and fourth communicationconnection information.

In operation 925, if none of the obtained SSID and MAC address exists inthe stored AP list, the client 101 may perform an initial connectionprocedure. The initial connection procedure is described in detail abovewith reference to FIG. 6.

In operation 930, the client 101 may load the second and fourthcommunication connection information associated with the APidentification information. In operation 935, the client 101 may set aparameter of an internal function based on the loaded second and fourthcommunication connection information.

In operation 940, the client 101 may generate an encryption keyEAPOL-Key based on the set parameter, and send the generated encryptionto the AP 190.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an AP duringreconnection according to various example embodiments.

In operation 1005, the AP 190 may receive an encryption key EAPOL-Keyfrom the client 101. In operation 1010, the AP 190 may checkidentification information (e.g., at least one of an SSID and a MACaddress) of the client 101, which is obtained from the encryption keyEAPOL-Key.

In operation 1015, the AP 190 may determine whether at least one of theSSID and the MAC address exists in a stored client list. As describedabove, the AP 190 may store the identification information of the client101 in association with the first and third communication connectioninformation.

In operation 1020, if none of the SSID and the MAC address exists in thestored client list, the AP 190 may discard the received encryption keyEAPOL-Key.

In operation 1025, if at least one of the SSID and the MAC addressexists in the stored client list, the AP 190 may load the first andthird communication connection information associated with theidentification information of the client 101.

In operation 1030, the AP 190 may set a parameter of an internalfunction based on the loaded first and third communication connectioninformation. In operation 1035, the AP 190 may generate an encryptionkey EAPOL-Key based on the set parameter, and send the generatedencryption key to the client 101.

FIG. 11 illustrates association response values during initialconnection and reconnection according to various example embodiments.

In FIG. 11, the data disposed on the upper side represents anassociation response value during initial connection, and the datadisposed on the lower side represents an association response valueduring reconnection. In other words, the data disposed on the upper sideis the data that the AP 190 was obtained by receiving it from the client101, and the data disposed on the lower side may be the data that the AP190 has obtained by setting a parameter of an internal function, insteadof receiving it from the client 101. As shown in FIG. 11, it can benoted that the association response value during reconnection is thesame as the association response value during initial connection exceptfor the sequence number.

FIG. 12 illustrates a network environment including an electronic deviceaccording to various example embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 12, a client 101 in a network environment 100according to various example embodiments is disclosed. The client 101may include a bus 110, a processor 120, a memory 130, an Input/Output(I/O) interface 150, a display 160, a communication interface 170, and aWiFi chipset 180. In some example embodiments, the client 101 mayinclude the above components, at least one of which may be omitted, ormay additionally include other components.

The bus 110 may include, for example, a circuit that connects thecomponents 120 to 180 to each other, and delivers a communication signal(e.g., a control message and/or data) between the components.

The processor 120 may include one or more of a central processing unit(CPU), an application processor (AP) or a communication processor (CP).The processor 120 may, for example, perform an operation regardingcontrol and/or communication of at least one other components of theclient 101, or perform data processing. The processor 120 may bereferred to as a controller, or may include the controller as a partthereof.

The memory 130 may include a volatile and/or non-volatile memory. Thememory 130 may store, for example, the command or data related to atleast one other component of the client 101. In one example embodiment,the memory 130 may store software and/or program 140. The program 140may include, for example, a kernel 141, a middleware 143, an applicationprogramming interface (API) 145, and/or an application program (orapplication) 147. At least some of the kernel 141, the middleware 143 orthe API 145 may be referred to as an operating system (OS).

The kernel 141 may, for example, control or manage the system resources(e.g., the bus 110, the processor 120 or the memory 130) used to performthe operation or function implemented in other programs (e.g., themiddleware 143, the API 145 or the application program 147). Further,the kernel 141 may provide an interface that can control or manage thesystem resources, as the middleware 143, the API 145 or the applicationprogram 147 accesses individual component of the client 101.

The middleware 143 may, for example, play an intermediary role so thatthe API 145 or the application program 147 may exchange data through thekernel 141. Further, the middleware 143 may perform control (e.g.,scheduling or load balancing) in response to work requests received fromthe application program 147 by using, for example, a method such asassigning a priority capable of using the system resources (e.g., thebus 110, the processor 120 or the memory 130) of the client 101 to atleast one application among the application program(s) 147.

The API 145 may include, for example, at least one interface or function(e.g., a command) for, for example, file control, window control, imageprocessing or character control, as an interface by which theapplication 147 controls the function provided in the kernel 141 or themiddleware 143.

In this specification, the application may be referred to as anapplication program.

The I/O interface 150 may, for example, serve as an interface that canforward the command or data received from the user or other externaldevices, to other component(s) of the client 101. Further, the I/Ointerface 150 may output the command or data received from the othercomponent(s) of the client 101 to the user or other external devices.

The display 160 may include, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD)display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light emittingdiode (OLED) display, a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) display,or an electronic paper display. The display 160 may, for example,display a variety of content (e.g., texts, images, videos, icons orsymbols), for the user. The display 160 may include a touch screen, andmay receive the touch, gesture, proximity or hovering input that is madeusing, for example, an electronic pen or a part of the user's body.

The communication interface 170 may, for example, establishcommunication between the client 101 and the external devices (e.g., afirst external electronic device 102, a second external electronicdevice 104, or a server 106). For example, the communication interface170 may be connected to a network 162 through wireless communication orwired communication to communicate with the external device (e.g., thesecond external electronic device 104 or the server 106).

The wireless communication may include, as a cellular communicationprotocol for example, at least one of, for example, long term evolution(LTE), long term evolution advanced (LTE-A), code division multipleaccess (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), universalmobile telecommunications system (UMTS), wireless broadband (WiBro), orglobal system for mobile communication GSM. The wired communication mayinclude at least one of, for example, universal serial bus (USB), highdefinition multimedia interface (HDMI), recommended standard 232(RS-232), or plain old telephone service (POTS). The network 162 mayinclude a telecommunications network (e.g., at least one of a computernetwork (e.g., a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN)),Internet, or a telephone network).

Each of the first and second external electronic devices 102 and 104 maybe a device that is the same as or different from the client 101. In oneexample embodiment, the server 106 may include a group of one or moreservers. In various example embodiments, all or some of the operationsperformed in the client 101 may be performed in other one or moreelectronic devices (e.g., the electronic devices 102 and 104 or theserver 106). In one example embodiment, if the client 101 should performany function or service automatically or upon request, the client 101may request other devices (e.g., the electronic devices 102 and 104, orthe server 106) to perform at least some functions associated with thefunction or service, additionally or instead of spontaneously performingthe function or service. The other electronic devices (e.g., theelectronic devices 102 and 104, or the server 106) may perform therequested function or additional function, and deliver the results tothe client 101. The client 101 may provide the requested function orservice by processing the received results intact or additionally. Tothis end, for example, could computing, distributed computing, orclient-server computing technologies may be used.

In one example embodiment, the WiFi chipset 180 may support theoperation of the client 101 by performing at least one of the operations(or functions) implemented in the client 101.

The WiFi chipset 180 may process at least some of the informationobtained from other components (e.g., at least one of the processor 120,the memory 130, the I/O interface 150 and the communication interface170), and use the processed information in various ways. For example,the WiFi chipset 180 may control at least some functions of the client101 using the processor 120 or independently of the processor 120 sothat the client 101 may interwork with the other electronic devices(e.g., the electronic devices 102 and 104 or the server 106). The WiFichipset 180 may be incorporated into the processor 120 or thecommunication interface 170. In one example embodiment, at least onecomponent of the WiFi chipset 180 may be incorporated into the server106, and at least one operation implemented in the WiFi chipset 180 maybe supported from the server 106.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram 1300 of a program module 1310 according tovarious example embodiments. In one example embodiment, the programmodule 1310 (e.g., the program 140) may include an operation system (OS)for controlling the resources related to the electronic device (e.g.,the client 101), and/or various applications (e.g., applicationprogram(s) 147) that are run in the OS. The OS may be, for example,Android™, iOS™, Windows™, Symbian™, Tizen, or Bada™.

The program module 1310 may include a kernel 1320, a middleware 1330, anapplication programming interface (API) 1360, and/or an application(s)1370. At least some of the components of the program module 1310 may bepreloaded on the electronic device, or may be downloaded from the server(e.g., the server 106).

The kernel 1320 (e.g., the kernel 141 in FIG. 12) may include, forexample, a system resource manager 1321 and/or a device driver 1323. Thesystem resource manager 1321 may control, allocate or de-allocate thesystem resources. In one example embodiment, the system resource manager1321 may include a process manager, a memory manager or a file systemmanager. The device driver 1323 may include, for example, a displaydriver, a camera driver, a Bluetooth driver, a shared memory driver, aUSB driver, a keypad driver, a WiFi driver, an audio driver, or aninter-process communication (IPC) driver.

The middleware 1330 may, for example, provide the function that theapplication(s) 1370 requires in common, or may provide various functionsto the application 1370 through the API 1360 so that the application1370 may efficiently use the limited system resources in the electronicdevice. In one example embodiment, the middleware 1330 (e.g., themiddleware 143) may include at least one of a runtime library 1335, anapplication manager 1341, a window manager 1342, a multimedia manager1343, a resource manager 1344, a power manager 1345, a database manager1346, a package manager 1347, a connectivity manager 1348, anotification manager 1349, a location manager 1350, a graphic manager1351, or a security manager 1352.

The runtime library 1335 may include, for example, a library module thata compiler uses to add a new function through a program language whilethe application 1370 is run. The runtime library 1335 may performfunctions for input/output management, memory management, or arithmeticfunctions management.

The application manager 1341 may, for example, manage the life cycle ofat least one application among the applications 1370. The window manager1342 may manage the graphic user interface (GUI) resources used in thescreen. The multimedia manager 1343 may determine a format required forplayback of various media files, and perform encoding or decoding on amedia file using a codec for the format. The resource manager 1344 maymanage resources such as resource code, memory or storage space for atleast one application among the applications 1370.

The power manager 1345 may, for example, manage the battery or power byoperating together with a basic input/output system (BIOS), and providepower information required for operation of the electronic device. Thedatabase manager 1346 may generate, search or modify the database to beused in at least one application among the applications 1370. Thepackage manager 1347 may manage installation or update of an applicationthat is distributed in the form of a package file.

The connectivity manager 1348 may manage wireless connection such as,for example, WiFi or Bluetooth. The notification manager 1349 mayindicate or notify events such as notification of message arrival,appointment or proximity, in a manner that does not interfere with theuser. The location manager 1350 may mange the location information ofthe electronic device. The graphic manager 1351 may manage the graphiceffects to be provided to the user, or the associated user interface.The security manager 1352 may provide various security functionsrequired for the system security or user authentication. In one exampleembodiment, if the electronic device (e.g., the client 101) includes aphone function, the middleware 1330 may further include a telephonymanager for managing the voice or video call function of the electronicdevice.

The middleware 1330 may include a middleware module for forming acombination of various functions of the above-described components. Themiddleware 1330 may provide a specialized module for each type of the OSto provide a differentiated function. Further, the middleware 1330 maydynamically delete some of the existing components, or add newcomponents.

The API 1360 (e.g., the API 145), which is a set of API programmingfunctions, may be provided, for example, in different configurationdepending on the OS. For example, in the case of Android™ or iOS™, theAPI 1360 may provide one API set per platform, and in the case ofTizen™, the API 1360 may provide two or more API sets per platform.

The application 1370 (e.g., the application program 147) may, forexample, include one or more applications capable of providing functionssuch as home 1371, dialer 1372, short message service (SMS)/multimediamessaging service (MMS) 1373, instant message (IM) 1374, browser 1375,camera 1376, alarm 1377, contact 1378, voice dial 1379, e-mail 1380,calendar 1381, media player 1382, album 1383, clock 1384, health care(e.g., measurement of exercise or blood glucose), or environmentinformation provision (e.g., provision of pressure, humidity ortemperature information).

In one example embodiment, the application 1370 may include anapplication (hereinafter, referred to as an ‘information exchangeapplication’ for convenience of description) for supporting informationexchange between the electronic device (e.g., the client 101) and theexternal electronic device (e.g., the electronic devices 102 and 104).The information exchange application may include, for example, anotification relay application for relaying specific information to theexternal electronic device, or a device management application formanaging the external electronic device.

For example, the notification relay application may include a functionof relaying the notification information generated in other applications(e.g., the SMS/MMS application, the e-mail application, the healthcareapplication, or the environmental information application) of theelectronic device, to the external electronic device (e.g., theelectronic devices 102 and 104). Further, the notification relayapplication may, for example, receive notification information from theexternal electronic device and provide the notification information tothe user. The device management application may, for example, manage atleast one function (e.g., turn-on/off of all or some of the componentsof the external electronic device or adjustment of the brightness (orresolution) of the display) of the external electronic device (e.g., theelectronic devices 102 and 104) communicating with the electronicdevice, or manage (e.g., install, delete or update) the applicationoperating in the external electronic device or the service (e.g., a callservice or a messaging service) provided by the external electronicdevice.

In one example embodiment, the application 1370 may include anapplication (e.g., a healthcare application) that is specified dependingon the properties (e.g., the properties of the electronic device,indicating that the type of the electronic device is a mobile medicaldevice) of the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic devices102 and 104). In one example embodiment, the application 1370 mayinclude an application received from the external electronic device(e.g., the server 106 or the electronic devices 102 and 104). In oneexample embodiment, the application 1370 may include a preloadedapplication, or a third party application that can be downloaded fromthe server. Names of the components of the program module 1310 accordingto an example embodiment may vary depending on the type of the OS.

In various example embodiments, at least some of the program module 1310may be implemented by software, firmware, hardware or a combinationthereof. At least some of the program module 1310 may be implemented by,for example, a processor (e.g., the processor 120). At least some of theprogram module 1310 may include, for example, a module, a program, aroutine, an instruction set or a process, for implementing one or morefunctions.

According to an example embodiment, an electronic device may include acommunication module; a memory configured to store communicationconnection information for communication connection with an externalelectronic device; and a processor configured to, upon a communicationconnection request with the external electronic device, performcommunication connection with the external electronic device usingpre-stored communication connection information, if the pre-storedcommunication connection information exists.

According to an example embodiment, if the pre-stored communicationconnection information does not exist, the processor may performexchange of communication connection information with the externalelectronic device, and perform communication connection with theexternal electronic device using the exchanged communication connectioninformation.

According to an example embodiment, the communication module may be aWiFi communication module.

According to an example embodiment, the communication connectioninformation may include Capability Information, SSID information, andSupported Rates information.

According to an example embodiment, the communication connectioninformation may further include at least one of RSN information, HTCapability Information, WPA information, Vendor Specific information,and WMM information.

According to an example embodiment, to perform the exchange ofcommunication connection information, the processor may receive a ProbeResponse signal from the external electronic device by sending a ProbeRequest signal to the external electronic device, receive anAuthentication signal from the external electronic device by sending anAuthentication signal to the external electronic device, and receive anAssociation Response signal from the external electronic device bysending an Association Request signal to the external electronic device.

According to an example embodiment, the processor may be configured toperform communication connection with the external electronic device bytransmitting an encryption key packet that is an extensibleauthentication protocol over local area network key (EAPOL-Key) packetto the external electronic device after setting a parameter forconnecting communication using the communication connection information.

According to an example embodiment, a method for connectingcommunication in an electronic device may include storing communicationconnection information for communication connection with an externalelectronic device; and upon a communication connection request with theexternal electronic device, performing communication connection with theexternal electronic device using pre-stored communication connectioninformation, if the pre-stored communication connection informationexists.

According to an example embodiment, the communication connection methodmay further include performing exchange of communication connectioninformation with the external electronic device, if the pre-storedcommunication connection information does not exist; storing theexchanged communication connection information; and performingcommunication connection with the external electronic device using theexchanged communication connection information.

According to an example embodiment, the communication connection may beWiFi communication connection.

According to an example embodiment, the communication connectioninformation may include Capability Information, SSID information, andSupported Rates information.

According to an example embodiment, the communication connectioninformation may further include at least one of RSN information, HTCapability Information, WPA information, Vendor Specific information,and WMM information.

According to an example embodiment, performing exchange of communicationconnection information with the external electronic device may includereceiving a Probe Response signal from the external electronic device bysending a Probe Request signal to the external electronic device;receiving an Authentication signal from the external electronic deviceby sending an Authentication signal to the external electronic device;and receiving an Association Response signal from the externalelectronic device by sending an Association Request signal to theexternal electronic device.

According to an example embodiment, performing communication connectionwith the external electronic device may include transmitting anencryption key packet that is an extensible authentication protocol overlocal area network key (EAPOL-Key) packet to the external electronicdevice after setting a parameter for connecting communication using thecommunication connection information.

According to an example embodiment, a storage medium may store acommunication connection program in an electronic device. Thecommunication connection program may include storing communicationconnection information for communication connection with an externalelectronic device; and upon a communication connection request with theexternal electronic device, performing communication connection with theexternal electronic device using pre-stored communication connectioninformation, if the pre-stored communication connection informationexists.

According to an example embodiment, a method for connectingcommunication with an AP in a WiFi client may include obtaining an APselection command for the AP; obtaining an SSID of the AP from theobtained AP selection command, and sending a Probe Request signalincluding the SSID of the AP; receiving a Probe Response signal from theAP; parsing the received Probe Response signal and storing secondcommunication connection information based on the parsing result;sending an Authentication signal to the AP, and receiving anAuthentication signal from the AP; sending an Association Request signalto the AP; receiving an Association Response signal from the AP; parsingthe received Association Response signal and storing fourthcommunication connection information based on the parsing result; andgenerating an encryption key and sending the encryption key to the AP.

According to an example embodiment, a method for connectioncommunication with a client in a WiFi AP may include receiving a ProbeRequest signal including an SSID of the AP; parsing the received ProbeRequest signal and storing first communication connection informationbased on the parsing result; sending a Probe Response signal to theclient; receiving an Authentication signal from the client, and sendingan Authentication signal to the client; receiving an Association Requestsignal from the client; parsing the received Association Request signal,and storing third communication connection information based on theparsing result; sending an Association Response signal to the client;and receiving an encryption key from the client.

According to an example embodiment, a method for connectingcommunication with an AP in a WiFi client may include obtaining an APselection command for the AP; obtaining an SSID of the AP from theobtained AP selection command, and determining whether the SSID existsin a pre-stored AP list; if the SSID exists in the AP list, obtainingsecond and fourth communication connection information corresponding tothe SSID; and generating an encryption key based on at least one of theobtained second and fourth communication connection information, andsending the encryption key to the AP.

According to an example embodiment, the second communication connectioninformation may be information related to a Probe Response signalpreviously received from the AP, and the fourth communication connectioninformation may be information related to an Association Response signalpreviously received from the AP.

According to an example embodiment, a method for connectingcommunication with a client in a WiFi AP may include receiving anencryption key including an SSID of the client; determining whether theSSID obtained from the received encryption key exists in a pre-storedclient list; if the SSID exists in the client list, obtaining first andthird communication connection information corresponding to the SSID;and generating an encryption key based on at least one of the obtainedfirst and third communication connection information, and transmittingthe encryption key to the client.

According to an example embodiment, the first communication connectioninformation may be information related to a Probe Request signalpreviously received from the client, and the third communicationconnection information may be information related to an AssociationRequest signal previously received from the client.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram 1400 of an electronic device 1401 accordingto various example embodiments. The electronic device 1401 may include,for example, the whole or part of the client 101 shown in FIG. 12. Theelectronic device 1401 may include one or more application processor(AP) 1410, a communication module 1420, a subscriber identificationmodule (SIM) card 1424, a memory 1430, a sensor module 1440, an inputdevice 1450, a display 1460, an interface 1470, an audio module 1480, acamera module 191, a power management module 1495, a battery 1496, anindicator 1497, and a motor 1498.

The AP 1410 may control a plurality of hardware or software componentsconnected to the AP 1410 by running, for example, the OS or theapplication program, and may perform various data processing andoperations. The AP 1410 may be implemented as, for example, a system onchip (SoC). In one example embodiment, the AP 1410 may further include agraphic processing unit (GPU) and/or an image signal processor (ISP).The AP 1410 may include at least some (e.g., a cellular module 1421) ofthe components shown in FIG. 14. The AP 1410 may load, on a volatilememory, the command or data received from at least one of the othercomponents (e.g., a non-volatile memory), and process the loaded data,and may store various data in a non-volatile memory.

The communication module 1420 may have the structure that is the same asor similar to the communication interface 170 in FIG. 12. Thecommunication module 1420 may include, for example, the cellular module1421, a WiFi module 1423, a Bluetooth (BT) module 1425, a GPS module1427, a near field communication (NFC) module 1428, and a radiofrequency (RF) module 1429.

The cellular module 1421 may, for example, provide a voice call service,a video call service, a messaging service or an Internet service overthe communication network. In one example embodiment, the cellularmodule 1421 may perform identification and authentication of theelectronic device 1401 in the communication network using a subscriberidentification module (e.g., the SIM card 1424). In one exampleembodiment, the cellular module 1421 may perform at least some of thefunctions that can be provided by the AP 1410. In one exampleembodiment, the cellular module 1421 may include a communicationprocessor (CP).

Each of the WiFi module 1423, the BT module 1425, the GPS module 1427 orthe NFC module 1428 may include, for example, a processor for processingthe data that is transmitted or received through the correspondingmodule. In some example embodiments, at least some (e.g., two or more)of the cellular module 1421, the WiFi module 1423, the BT module 1425,the GPS module 1427 or the NFC module 1428 may be incorporated into oneintegrated chip (IC) or IC package.

The RF module 1429 may, for example, transmit or receive a communicationsignal (e.g., an RF signal). The RF module 1429 may include, forexample, a transceiver, a power AMP module (PAM), a frequency filter, alow noise amplifier (LNA) or an antenna. In another example embodiment,at least one of the cellular module 1421, the WiFi module 1423, the BTmodule 1425, the GPS module 1427 or the NFC module 1428 may transmit andreceive an RF signal through a separate RF module.

The SIM card 1424 may, for example, include a card with a subscriberidentification module and/or an embedded SIM, and include uniqueidentification information (e.g., integrated circuit card identifier(ICCID)) or subscriber information (e.g., international mobilesubscriber identity (IMSI)).

The memory 1430 (e.g., the memory 130) may include, for example, aninternal memory 1432 or an external memory 1434. The internal memory1432 may include at least one of, for example, a volatile memory (e.g.,a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM) or a synchronous dynamic RAM(SDRAM)), and a non-volatile memory (e.g., a one time programmable ROM(OTPROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable and programmable ROM(EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a maskROM, a flash ROM, a flash memory (e.g., NAND flash or NOR flash), a harddrive, or a solid state drive (SSD)).

The external memory 1434 may further include a flash drive (e.g.,compact flash (CF), secure digital (SD), micro secure digital(Micro-SD), mini secure digital (Mini-SD) or extreme digital (xD)) or amemory stick. The external memory 1434 may be functionally or physicallyconnected to the electronic device 1401 through various interfaces.

The sensor module 1440 may, for example, measure the physical quantityor detect the operating status of the electronic device 1401, andconvert the measured or detected information into an electrical signal.The sensor module 1440 may include at least one of, for example, agesture sensor 1440A, a gyro sensor 1440B, a barometer 1440C, a magneticsensor 1440D, an accelerometer 1440E, a grip sensor 1440F, a proximitysensor 1440G, a color sensor (or red, green, blue (RGB) sensor) 1440H, abiosensor 14401, a temperature/humidity sensor 1440J, an illuminationsensor 1440K, or a ultra violet (UV) sensor 1440M. Additionally oralternatively, the sensor module 1440 may include, for example, anE-nose sensor, an electromyography (EMG) sensor, an electroencephalogram(EEG) sensor, an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, an infrared (IR)sensor, an iris sensor, and/or a fingerprint sensor. The sensor module1440 may further include a control circuit for controlling one or moresensors included therein. In some example embodiments, the electronicdevice 1401 may further include a processor that is configured as a partof the AP 1410 or separately configured, so as to control the sensormodule 1440. Thus, while the AP 1410 is in the sleep state, theelectronic device 1401 may control the sensor module 1440.

The input device 1450 may include, for example, a touch panel 1452, a(digital) pen sensor 1454, a key 1456, or an ultrasonic input device1458. The touch panel 1452 may use at least one of, for example, acapacitive scheme, a resistive scheme, an IR scheme or an ultrasonicscheme. The touch panel 1452 may further include a control circuit. Thetouch panel 1452 may further include a tactile layer to provide atactile feedback or response to the user.

The (digital) pen sensor 1454 may include, for example, a separaterecognition sheet, which is a part of the touch panel. The key 1456 mayinclude, for example, a physical button, an optical key or a keypad. Theultrasonic input device 1458 may check the data by detecting sound wavesin the electronic device 1401 with a microphone (e.g., a microphone1488) through the input tool that generates an ultrasonic signal.

The display 1460 (e.g., the display 160) may include a panel 1462, ahologram device 1464, or a projector 1466. The panel 1462 may have thestructure that is the same as or similar to the display 160 in FIG. 12.The panel 1462 may be implemented to be, for example, flexible,transparent, or wearable. The panel 1462, together with the touch panel1452, may be configured as one module. The hologram device 1464 may showstereoscopic images in the air using the interference of the light. Theprojector 1466 may display images by projecting the light on the screen.The screen may be disposed in, for example, inside or outside of theelectronic device 1401. In one example embodiment, the display 1460 mayfurther include a control circuit for controlling the panel 1462, thehologram device 1464 or the projector 1466.

The interface 1470 may include, for example, an HDMI 1472, a USB 1474,an optical interface 1476, or D-subminiature (D-sub) 1478. The interface1470 may, for example, be incorporated into the communication interface170 shown in FIG. 12. Additionally or alternatively, the interface 1470may include, for example, mobile high-definition link (MHL) interface, asecure digital (SD) card/multi-media card (MMC) interface, or a infrareddata association (IrDA) interface.

The audio module 1480 may, for example, convert the sound into anelectronic signal, or vice versa. At least some of the components of theaudio module 1480 may, for example, be incorporated into the I/Ointerface 150 shown in FIG. 12. The audio module 1480 may process, forexample, the sound information that is input or output through a speaker1482, a receiver 1484, an earphone 1486, or a microphone 1488.

The camera module 1491 may be, for example, a device that can capturestill images or videos. In one example embodiment, the camera module1491 may include one or more image sensors (e.g., a front image sensoror a rear image sensor), a lens, an ISP, or a flash (e.g., an LED orxenon lamp).

The power management module 1495 may, for example, manage the power ofthe electronic device 1401. In one example embodiment, the powermanagement module 1495 may include a power management integrated circuit(PMIC), a charger integrated circuit (IC), or a battery or fuel gauge.The PMIC may have a wired/wireless charging scheme. The wirelesscharging scheme may include, for example, a magnetic resonance scheme, amagnetic induction scheme, or an electromagnetic scheme, and may furtherinclude additional circuits (e.g., a loop coil, a resonance circuit, ora rectifier) for wireless charging. The battery or fuel gauge may, forexample, measure the remaining capacity, the charging voltage, thecharging current or the temperature of the battery 1496. The battery1496 may include, for example, a rechargeable battery and/or a solarbattery.

The indicator 1497 may indicate particular sates (e.g., boot state,message state or charging state) of some components (e.g., the AP 1410)of the electronic device 1401). The motor 1498 may convert an electricalsignal into mechanical vibrations, and may generate vibration or hapticeffects. Although not shown, the electronic device 1401 may include aprocessing device (e.g., a GPU) for support of mobile TV. The processingdevice for support of mobile TV may, for example, process the media datathat is based on digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB), digital videobroadcasting (DVB) or MediaFLO™.

Each of the above-described components of the electronic deviceaccording to various example embodiments may include one or more parts,and the names of the components may vary depending on the type of theelectronic device. The electronic device according to various exampleembodiments may include at least one of the above components, some ofwhich may be omitted, or may further include other additionalcomponents. Some of the components of the electronic device according tovarious example embodiments may be configured as one entity by beingcombined, so the entity may perform the previous functions of thecomponents in the same way.

As used herein, the term ‘module’ may refer to a unit that includes oneof, or a combination of, for example, hardware, software or firmware.The term ‘module’ may be interchangeably used with the terms such as,for example, unit, logic, logical block, component or circuit. Themodule may be the minimum unit of a component that is configured as asingle body, or a part thereof. The module may be the minimum unit thatperforms one or more functions, or a part thereof. The module may beimplemented mechanically or electronically. For example, the module mayinclude at least one of an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit(ASIC) chip, a Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) chip or aprogrammable-logic device, which have been known, or will be developedin the future, and which may perform any operations.

At least a portion of the device (modules or their functions) or method(operations) according to various example embodiments may be implementedby, for example, a command that is stored in a computer-readable storagemedia in the form of a programming module. If the command is executed byat least one processor (e.g., the processor 120), the at least oneprocessor may perform a function corresponding to the command. Thecomputer-readable storage media may be, for example, the memory 130.

The computer-readable storage media may include a hard disk, a floppydisk, magnetic media (e.g., magnetic tape), optical media (e.g., CompactDisc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM) and Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)),magneto-optical media (e.g., floptical disk)), and a hardware device(e.g., Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM) or flashmemory). In addition, the program command may include not only themachine code made by the compiler, but also the high-level language codethat can be executed by the computer using the interpreter and the like.The hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more softwaremodules to perform the operations according to various exampleembodiments, and vice versa.

The module or programming module according to various exampleembodiments may include at least one of the above-described components,some of which can be omitted, or may further include other additionalcomponents. The operations performed by the module, the programmingmodule or other components according to various example embodiments maybe performed in a sequential, parallel, iterative or heuristic manner.In addition, some operations may be performed in a different order, oromitted, or other operations may be added.

According to various example embodiments, in a storage medium thatstores instructions, when the instructions are executed by at least oneprocessor, the instructions may be set to allow the at least oneprocessor to perform at least one operation. The at least one operationmay include storing communication connection information forcommunication connection with an external electronic device; and upon acommunication connection request with the external electronic device,performing communication connection with the external electronic deviceusing pre-stored communication connection information, if the pre-storedcommunication connection information exists.

The example embodiments disclosed herein have been presented for thedescription and understanding of the disclosure, and are not intended tolimit the scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the scope of thedisclosure should be construed to include all modifications based on thespirit of the disclosure, or various other example embodiments

As is apparent from the foregoing description, according to variousexample embodiments, when an electronic device reconnects with anopponent device, with which its connection has been made previously, theelectronic device may omit at least one procedure for searching for,recognizing and authenticating the opponent device.

An aspect of various example embodiments may provide an electronicdevice and communication connection method for storing communicationconnection information related to an opponent device, with which itsconnection has been made previously.

Another aspect of various example embodiments may provide an electronicdevice and communication connection method for making a communicationconnection based on the stored communication connection information,when reconnecting with an opponent device, with which its connection hasbeen made previously.

While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference tocertain example embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure asdefined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a communicationmodule comprising communication circuitry; a memory configured to storecommunication connection information for communication connection withan external electronic device; and a processor configured to establish acommunication connection with the external electronic device bytransmitting extensible authentication protocol over local area network(EAPOL) including pre-stored communication connection informationwithout transmitting a probe request and receiving a probe response, ifthe pre-stored communication connection information exists, upon acommunication connection request with the external electronic device,wherein the pre-stored communication connection information includesfirst communication connection information associated with a ProbeResponse signal received from the external electronic device and secondcommunication connection information associated with an AssociationResponse signal received from the external electronic device.
 2. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein if the pre-stored communicationconnection information does not exist, the processor is configured toperform exchange of communication connection information with theexternal electronic device, and to perform communication connection withthe external electronic device using the exchanged communicationconnection information.
 3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein thecommunication module is a wireless fidelity (WiFi) communication module.4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the first communicationconnection information includes at least one of Capability Information,Service Set Identifier (SSID) information, Supported Rates information,Robust Security Network (RSN) information, High-Throughput (HT)Capability information, additional HT information, Wi-Fi ProtectedAccess (WPA) information, Vendor Specific information, and Wi-FiMultimedia (WMM) information.
 5. The electronic device of claim 3,wherein the second communication connection information includes atleast one of Capability Information, Service Set Identifier (SSID)information, Supported Rates information, Robust Security Network (RSN)information, High-Throughput (HT) Capability Information, VendorSpecific information, and Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) information.
 6. Theelectronic device of claim 3, wherein the processor is configured toperform the exchange of communication connection information, andreceives the Probe Response signal from the external electronic deviceby sending a Probe Request signal to the external electronic device,receives an Authentication signal from the external electronic device bysending an Authentication signal to the external electronic device, andreceives the Association Response signal from the external electronicdevice by sending an Association Request signal to the externalelectronic device.
 7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein theprocessor is configured to establish the communication connection withthe external electronic device by transmitting an encryption key packetcomprises an extensible authentication protocol over local area networkkey (EAPOL-Key) packet to the external electronic device after setting aparameter for connecting communication using the communicationconnection information.
 8. A method for establishing a communicationconnection in an electronic device, comprising: storing communicationconnection information for communication connection with an externalelectronic device; and upon a communication connection request with theexternal electronic device, performing communication connection with theexternal electronic device by transmitting extensible authenticationprotocol over local area network (EAPOL) including pre-storedcommunication connection information without transmitting a proberequest and receiving a probe request, if the pre-stored communicationconnection information exists, wherein the pre-stored communicationconnection information includes first communication connectioninformation associated with a Probe Response signal received from theexternal electronic device and second communication connectioninformation associated with an Association Response signal received fromthe external electronic device.
 9. The method of claim 8, furthercomprising: performing exchange of communication connection informationwith the external electronic device, if the pre-stored communicationconnection information does not exist; storing the exchangedcommunication connection information; and performing communicationconnection with the external electronic device using the exchangedcommunication connection information.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe communication connection is wireless fidelity (WiFi) communicationconnection.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first communicationconnection information includes at least one of Capability Information,Service Set Identifier (SSID) information, Supported Rates information,Robust Security Network (RSN) information, High-Throughput (HT)Capability information, additional HT information, Wi-Fi ProtectedAccess (WPA) information, Vendor Specific information, and Wi-FiMultimedia (WMM) information.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein thesecond communication connection information includes at least one ofCapability Information, Service Set Identifier (SSID) information,Supported Rates information, Robust Security Network (RSN) information,High-Throughput (HT) Capability Information, Vendor Specificinformation, and Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) information.
 13. The method ofclaim 10, wherein performing exchange of communication connectioninformation with the external electronic device includes: receiving theProbe Response signal from the external electronic device by sending aProbe Request signal to the external electronic device; receiving anAuthentication signal from the external electronic device by sending anAuthentication signal to the external electronic device; and receivingthe Association Response signal from the external electronic device bysending an Association Request signal to the external electronic device.14. The method of claim 13, wherein performing communication connectionwith the external electronic device comprises transmitting an encryptionkey packet comprising an extensible authentication protocol over localarea network key (EAPOL-Key) packet to the external electronic deviceafter setting a parameter for connecting communication using thecommunication connection information.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing a communication connectionprogram which, when executed by a computer of an electronic device,controls the electronic device to perform operations comprising: storingcommunication connection information for communication connection withan external electronic device; and upon a communication connectionrequest with the external electronic device, performing communicationconnection with the external electronic device by transmittingextensible authentication over local area network (EAPOL) includingpre-stored communication connection information without transmitting aprobe request and receiving a probe response, if the pre-storedcommunication connection information exists, wherein the pre-storedcommunication connection information includes first communicationconnection information associated with a Probe Response signal receivedfrom the external electronic device and second communication connectioninformation associated with an Association Response signal received fromthe external electronic device.
 16. A method for establishing acommunication connection with an access point (AP) in a wirelessfidelity (WiFi) client, comprising: obtaining an AP selection commandfor the AP; obtaining a Service Set Identifier (SSID) of the AP from theobtained AP selection command, and sending a Probe Request signalincluding the SSID of the AP; receiving a Probe Response signal from theAP; parsing the received Probe Response signal and storing secondcommunication connection information based on the parsing resultassociated with the received Probe Response signal; sending anAuthentication signal to the AP, and receiving an Authentication signalfrom the AP; sending an Association Request signal to the AP; receivingan Association Response signal from the AP; parsing the receivedAssociation Response signal and storing fourth communication connectioninformation based on the parsing result associated with the receivedAssociation Response signal; and generating an encryption key andsending the encryption key to the AP.
 17. A method for establishing acommunication connection with a client in a wireless fidelity (WiFi)access point (AP), comprising: receiving a Probe Request signalincluding a Service Set Identifier (SSID) of the AP; parsing thereceived Probe Request signal and storing first communication connectioninformation based on the parsing result associated with the receivedProbe Request signal; sending a Probe Response signal to the client;receiving an Authentication signal from the client, and sending anAuthentication signal to the client; receiving an Association Requestsignal from the client; parsing the received Association Request signal,and storing third communication connection information based on theparsing result associated with the received Association Request signal;sending an Association Response signal to the client; and receiving anencryption key from the client.
 18. A method for establishing acommunication connection with an access point (AP) in a wirelessfidelity (WiFi) client, comprising: obtaining an AP selection commandfor the AP; obtaining a Service Set Identifier (SSID) of the AP from theobtained AP selection command, and determining whether the SSID existsin a pre-stored AP list; obtaining second and fourth communicationconnection information corresponding to the SSID if the SSID exists inthe AP list, wherein the second communication connection information isassociated with a Probe Response signal received from the access pointand fourth communication connection information is associated with anAssociation Response signal received from the access point; andgenerating an encryption key based on at least one of the obtainedsecond and fourth communication connection information, and sending theencryption key to the AP.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the secondcommunication connection information includes at least one of CapabilityInformation, Service Set Identifier (SSID) information, Supported Ratesinformation, Robust Security Network (RSN) information, High-Throughput(HT) Capability information, additional HT information, Wi-Fi ProtectedAccess (WPA) information, Vendor Specific information, and Wi-FiMultimedia (WMM) information, and the fourth communication connectioninformation includes at least one of Capability Information, Service SetIdentifier (SSID) information, Supported Rates information, RobustSecurity Network (RSN) information, High-Throughput (HT) CapabilityInformation, Vendor Specific information, and Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM)information.
 20. A method for establishing a communication connectionwith a client in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) access point (AP),comprising: receiving an encryption key including a Service SetIdentifier (SSID) of the client; determining whether the SSID obtainedfrom the received encryption key exists in a pre-stored client list;obtaining first and third communication connection informationcorresponding to the SSID if the SSID exists in the client list, whereinthe first communication connection information is associated with aProbe Request signal received from the client and third communicationconnection information is associated with an Association Request signalreceived from the client; and generating an encryption key based on atleast one of the obtained first and third communication connectioninformation, and transmitting the encryption key to the client.
 21. Themethod of claim 20, wherein the first communication connectioninformation includes at least one of Capability Information, Service SetIdentifier (SSID) information, Supported Rates information, RobustSecurity Network (RSN) information, High-Throughput (HT) Capabilityinformation, additional HT information, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)information, Vendor Specific information, and Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM)information, and the third communication connection information includesat least one of Capability Information, Service Set Identifier (SSID)information, Supported Rates information, Robust Security Network (RSN)information, High-Throughput (HT) Capability Information, VendorSpecific information, and Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) information.